This invention relates in general to articles of clothing having one or more regions or area containing embedded pellets which, when the clothing is worn, centers the pellet over and in close proximity to known pressure points including those points wherein acupuncture is customarily applied. Discretely applying pressure to the pressure point by means of the pellet, provides certain therapeutic benefits.
Acupuncture is a well known practice of Chinese origin of puncturing the body with needles at specific points to relieve pain and effect the curing of certain diseases. The specific points, or acupoints, are well documented in the literature and known to practitioners in this art. Shiatsu is massage therapy applied with the fingers to those specific areas of the body used in acupuncture. Hence, when pressure is applied to shiatsu meridian lines on the human body, certain desirable benefits are obtained. The meridian are known as the pathway of life energy of the human body.
The present invention utilizes acupoints of oriental medical theory, the same acupoints to which acupuncture is applied. It is well known that there are acupoints located at specific positions of the human body and stimulations of a specific acupoint can result in medical benefits such as relieving pain, improved metabolism and improved health.
Over the past many centuries the benefits of acupressure and massage have been well documented. Massage as a form of therapy can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans as an accepted form of medical treatment. One form of massage, acupressure has also been employed by the Chinese for over 5,000 years.
While the end result of acupressure and acupuncture are quite similar, they are different in that acupressure in its truest sense does not utilize needles. In either case it is believed that both systems stimulate the nervous system which releases neurohormones and affects the amounts of neurotransmitters. Moreover, both systems are effective for reducing muscle tension and pain, for at least some period of time. In addition to acupressure and acupuncture, the use of magnetism is also currently in vogue for the treatment of a variety of physical and other conditions.
More recently several methods and various kinds of apparatus have been proposed for applying pressure to the human body to provide relief from pain, stress and/or muscle tension. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,241,693 which issued Jun. 5, 2001 to Brian D. Lambden discloses a method and apparatus for applying pressure to the body of a person, particularly, those areas of the body which may be difficult to reach. The apparatus disclosed in this invention is comprised of an arcuate shaft, a handle that extends from the arcuate shaft in a plane intersecting the plane of the arcuate shaft, and a pressure applicator movably attached to the arcuate shaft for applying pressure to the body. The apparatus is used for massaging or for applying acupressure.
A magnetic acupuncture device which is adapted as a substitute for the conventional acupuncture needle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,530 which issued to Nai-Hsin Chien on Sep. 5, 2000. The device is in the form of a magnetic acupuncture pen which has a head providing an acupuncture point adapted to massage and press on a specific acupoint on a human body to provide stimulations.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,299,586 which issued Oct. 9, 2001, to Thauh D. Cao, discloses an acupressure point treatment apparatus which includes a pellet on a finger strap. The strap includes a band extending around a finger and a rigid extension containing a pellet perpendicular to the axis of the finger tip of an acupressurist for performing acupressure treatment. The patent also discloses a galvanic skin response monitor electronically connected to the pellet. In one embodiment, the pellet can be made of silver or a magnetized material to provide an effect of magnetic therapy.
Therapeutic clothing has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,950,239, which issued Sep. 14, 1999 to Richard Lopez and contains a permanent magnet whereby the polarity is directed to selected locations of the body to assist in healing. The magnetic magnets are thin members and are positioned to contact the skin of the user. The magnets can be contained in various articles of clothing such as shirts, gloves, trousers, socks, brassieres, knee pads, and the like.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,261,306, which issued Jul. 17, 2001 to George Henry Kramer, an acupressure treatment device is disclosed for use on a selected skin surface portion of a human body. The device which can be in the form of a patch is made of a thin flexible sheet having a first side, a second side and a margin, wherein the margin is shaped to correspond to a selected skin surface portions for properly orienting the device. The first side contains an adhesive layer for attachment to the skin. At least one bead is located on the adhesive layer suitable for positioning the bead against the skin to provide acupressure to at least a portion of the body surfaces. In this device the patch with bead adheres to the skin until removal. Additionally, each time the path is replaced, it must be positioned for proper orientation over the acupoint.
However, prior to the present invention the application of acupressure, and particularly acupuncture, was usually done by a professional person at specific locations, such as a doctor""s office, health club, or similar location. A person seeking benefit of such therapy such as acupuncture usually found difficulties in attempting to treat him or herself.
Accordingly, one or more of the following objects will be achieved by the practice of this invention. It is an object of this invention to provide a method whereby a person seeking the benefit of acupressure, can him or herself apply such pressure to known pressure points on his or her own body with essentially complete discretion and for the most part, without another person being aware of such action. It is a further object of the invention to provide articles of clothing whereby a person can discretely apply pressure through such clothing to predetermined acupoints on one""s body. Another object is to provide clothing which is custom tailored to have one or more regions or pouches incorporated into such clothing and when the clothing is worn, the region or pouch is located over one or more acupressure points on the wearer""s body. A still further object is to provide customized clothing where the pouches contain pellets through which pressure can be applied by the wearer to certain pressure points resulting in a therapeutic benefit. Another object of the present invention is to provide clothing with pouches or regions which contain pellets which can be magnetized. There are other objects that will become readily apparent to the one skilled in the art in light of the teachings herein set forth.
In its broad aspects, the present invention is directed to method for applying acupressure to an acupoint on a human being and to articles of clothing having (a) at least one region or pouch thereon of a size and shape which, when worn by a person, will center the region or pouch and its contents over and in-close proximity to a specific known pressure point on the body of the person wearing said clothing, and (b) contained in said pouch or located at such region at least one pellet of spherical or elliptical configurations, whereupon pressuring the pellet against the body of the person wearing the clothing, experts pin-point pressuring at the site of a known pressure point, providing at least some therapeutic benefit to said person. If desired, the pellet can be magnetized to obtain additional benefits.